Amid the usual rush of winter term, students and staff in the student services area are experiencing a very rare thing.

“In the 13 years I have been here, I have never seen the college more efficient for students,” said Cheryl Bowen, a student service specialist.

The ASH Mountain remodeling project altered the entire look of the student services area when construction was completed last December.

The new services epicenter features an area that leads to two adjacent hallways - the left hall is for financial aid offices and the right hall for academic advising. A counter is stationed in the center of the main room where specialists are cross-trained specifically for handling inquiries regarding admissions, records, business, cashiering, enrollment certification and basic academic advising.

“Students can access all of their services in one stop,” said Rob Nielson, the executive dean of student development. “There are four or five different areas they can all go to at once. They can pay their bills, add or drop classes, and pay tuition all in one place.”

Bowen said that students have been surprised by the convenience of the finished product.
“They don’t expect to be helped in the capacity that they are. They think they are going to be sent from point A to point B, but it’s not going to happen,” she said. “We can do it all.”
By spring term, Nielson hopes to create more convenience by adding basic financial aid knowledge to the student service specialist’s repertoire, and said that the cross training for this will begin next week.

Even though the specialists have not yet learned financial aid, Bowen said that the longest any student had waited in the student services line this week was around 12 minutes. “The lines are going a lot faster,” said freshman Ruth Noemi Ochoa.

Bowen also said that the atmosphere in the staff work area has improved. She added that the staff is enjoying the updated architecture and convenience of the completed remodel.
“One-stop shopping was their original goal when this project began, and I think that they have managed to achieve that.” said Bowen.